Dark whimsy, a bit like "Sweetie-era" Jane Campion if she had grown up in the Russian hinterland. The disturbing aspects are lost under the rigorous style, which Sigarev would admirably disassemble for 2012's "Living".

This film gets a special mention as it is better than its three opponents in my mind, in the category "please, think of the children" of the new Russian cinema: "The Italian", "Koktebel", "The Return". It is much better than those in that it is good.